Dogs run free...

This is truly rich.

I suggest you hurry over to the Esquire web site and check out this essay by none other than Ron Reagan, son of the old fart himself. You thought he blasted Bush et al. at the DNC love-fest in Boston, but you haven't seen the best of it. Check it out.

There were great views.

Last Friday (July 23) I went for a hike with Sheldon Prentice. We drove up to the Lake Mansfield Trout Club (one of several very nice private trout clubs in Vermont, but not to be confused with the Basshole Trout Club) in a steady light rain, so we knew it would be a wet hike. At the Club we donned hiking boots and rain gear (sort of) and setout for the hike up to the Long Trail. The main feature of the Trout Club is a nice man-made lake that is at the foot of a three-quarter ring of ridges forming the watershed. The Long Trail runs along the ridges and is a nice loop hike from the lodge. As we made our way up to the Taylor shelter the rain got heavier, then slacked off. There was a great deal of water in the otherwise tiny brooks that lace the hills. Just as we got to Taylor shelter the skies opened up and we missed a total dousing. When that ended, we made our way along the now soaked trail to the great views that Sheldon kept insisting were about to appear. None did, although there was lots of fog and mist.

By the time we reached the far side of the ridge, high above the lodge, but on the other side of the lake, we were completely soaked. However, our main concern was to get back to the lodge in time for lunch. To get back we needed to find Pete's Trail, which goes straight downto the lake. The only problem is that the trail is not well marked where it branches off from the Long Trail, the better to keep the riff-raff out. Sheldon said to keep an eye out for a very mossy area where the trail goes off to the left. Not seeing any blaze or marking of any kind, we set out through the ferns and brambles. We continued down very steep slopes ("I think we can make it down this way," said Sheldon, before sliding down a vertical slope). Eventually, about half way down the hill, we found the trail, although it was not much of an improvement over the path we had been on. The trail found, we made it back for a nice dry lunch. We did look a bit seedy coming into the lodge, but a quick change of clothes can work wonders.

But watch out for the gulls.

While slaving away in the dark confines of the lab this afternoon, I get the following jaunty email from Josh:
"Working with an ocean view (after a 30-second commute) is pretty much fantastic."
And if the view is in Harwichport, so much the better. I would like to work with an ocean view, but it's not likey to happen. It's nice to have someone in the family with a good view.

Caspian

Emmett, Myrto and kids visited this weekend (after we returned from Cape Cod) and we all went to Caspian lake, where Alison and Hannah have a camp for the week. Pictures of some lake-side activity here.
Could this be the start of a new series of postings? Time will tell.